WiFi Camera: Remotely Capture Photos With One iPhone Or iPad Using Another

The introduction of panorama mode in iOS 6 seems to have tickled the fancy of many app developers, as these days, a lot of creative camera-related apps have started coming out. Recently, we covered Signature Camera, an app that makes use of the front and rear cameras simultaneously. WiFi Camera goes one step further, and lets you connect cameras of two different iDevices. Using the app, you can access the camera of other iDevices nearby, over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Once linked, it becomes possible to send a capture command to the remote device, thereby saving the shot on both phones in one go. WiFi Camera supports both front and rear cams, and you can choose to flip between these at any time. The inset viewfinder shows the scene your own device is currently capturing, but the image that will be captured by hitting the camera button is the one in the main viewfinder. The app is perfect for collaborative photography in crowded spaces.

As you might already have guessed, WiFi Camera will have to be installed on both iDevices. For best performance, it is better if you use the app over Wi-Fi, although the connection can be established over Bluetooth as well. Once you have launched the app on both sides, the main screen of WiFi Camera shows the list of all iDevices on the same WiFi network or within Bluetooth range that are running the app. To initiate a camera-sharing session, hit the device’s name. This generates an invitation for the remote device. The other user will have to authorize the connection before you can proceed any further. Once connected, the main screen of your device will display whatever the other end is capturing. You can choose to switch the view you are broadcasting by hitting the button located in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

The incoming image stream is low in quality, but you shouldn’t worry about that as the captured photo will be as good as the ones taken from your own device. The thing to remember here is that hitting the capture button will snap the photo from the remote camera, while the user at the other end can capture whatever your device’s camera is looking at.

This universal app is available as a free download from the App Store, and should prove to be quite useful at parties where one is in the vicinity of multiple iOS devices, or to virtually be at two nearby places at once with, say, your iPhone and iPad.